Charlie
by captain-k-jones
Summary: Prompt: They find a lost girl on one of their adventures and decide to adopt her. An older girl who if found in the system might have been considered too old to adopt by most. Summary: Killian has faced many things in his life, but he would never be prepared for this.


_Merry Christmas, clockadile ! It has been wonderful getting to know you these last several weeks! I was able to get a fic written for you after all! It may not be exactly what you asked for, but it is what came out!_

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Killian's shoulder pressed against the door jam as he peered into the bedroom with a smile on his lips. Her back was facing him, her long chestnut hair tied into one of those complicated braids Emma had shown her. Placing her hands on her hips, she shifted her weight from foot to foot while staring into her open closet.

Half-filled boxes were in various locations throughout the room. While some of the boxes contained clothes, a reflection of her love of fashion that she'd developed from her "Aunt" Regina, most of them contained books since she refused to part with a single one they'd purchased her throughout the years, something that would certainly make her "Aunt" Belle proud.

His heart squeezed in his chest and he felt himself choke up as he continued to glance around the room before allowing his eyes to settle back on her form. He'd known this day was coming for weeks and yet here he was wholly unprepared for it. He was unprepared for…

"You know…" Her voice cut through his thoughts as she tilted her head to the right and continued to look into the closet. "You could help your favorite daughter out instead of just staring, Dad."

"Is that so?" He crossed his legs at the ankle and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans before biting the inside of his cheek. The last thing he wanted to do was help. Why would he help when he didn't want her to leave in the first place?

She turned on her heel quickly, her braid swinging to the air as she did, and met his eyes with a sad smile. "I'm not going far, Papa."

His heart leapt in his chest. She hadn't called him Papa since the first year she'd lived with them. For a moment he was reminded of that lost little girl he and Emma had brought home all those years ago. That lost little girl with big, wide brown eyes and matted hair. From the moment he'd seen her he'd known she would come to mean a great deal to he and Emma, he'd known it was his job to protect her from any harm that would come her way.

But, he couldn't protect her from this.

He took a step forward and widened his arms in the arm for her to step into them. She didn't hesitate even a half a second before she launched herself at him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped around her and he felt himself sigh before closing his eyes.

She meant everything to him, his little girl. Shortly after he and Emma married, they decided to try for children. For a year they tried and for a year they experienced nothing but disappointment. It wasn't until Emma convinced him to go to Whale and have some testing done that they discovered the reason.

Neverland may have allowed him retain his youthful glow, but apparently there had been a price. A steep one.

Emma had tried to play it off as if it were nothing, as if she were not affected, but he saw the disappointment in her face. He felt the disappointment in his chest.

The next day Henry, newly into his junior year of high school, decided to read from his mother's spell book and somehow opened a portal to the Enchanted Forest. In a way, Henry's mistake had been a blessing. It gave Emma, and himself, something else to focus on.

Two days later, after arriving in the Enchanted Forest themselves, they'd found her. She had been huddled against the trunk of a tree at the entrance to Sherwood Forest with a wolf snarling and snapping at her form. After scaring the wolf off, he and Emma tried to get her to speak, to explain where she was from or where her parents were, but she remained silent. The only thing they could decipher was that she looked to be about 12 years of age.

In the end, it had been an easy decision to bring her along. There was not a single person in their group who would leave a young girl behind. Throughout the process of finding Henry, she seemed to remain at Killian's side and, if he were not available, Emma's. By the time they located Henry, he and Emma had decided she would be returning to Storybrooke with them.

The first year with her had been… bloody hell, rough did not even describe it. She hadn't spoken in the Enchanted Forest because she didn't know how. They'd had to teach her. Snow had taken it upon herself to tutor her in order to catch her up to others her age. For a while, she refused to leave the house. For even longer, she'd had nightmares. Whatever had happened to her in the Enchanted Forest hadn't been pleasant. There were nights where the only way she'd sleep would be if they placed her in bed with them. On those nights, she'd wrap her arms around Killian's middle and bury her face in his chest.

Eventually, things got better. Eventually, _she_ got better.

And now? Now, she wasn't his little girl anymore.

Pressing his nose into her hair, he exhaled harshly. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He wasn't ready for this. He'd never be ready for this. He wasn't ready to let go.

"Papa." He heard her question, her voice trembling slightly.

He pulled back and forced a smile to his lips as he glanced at her. "Aye."

"I'm not leaving forever, you know. I'll be back for Christmas and spring break and all summer." Her voice was soft, gentle.

"Aye, I know, little love." He lifted his arm to brush a stray lock of hair off her face.

"Besides…" A huge smile broke out on her lips. "I'm living with _Henry_ , Papa. How much trouble can I possibly find with him?"

The laughter that escaped his chest was full of disbelief as he shook his head. He wouldn't mention to her how much trouble he and her mother had rescued Henry from throughout his life. She was trying to comfort him and for the moment, he'd let her. "Very true, love. Well, we best get to finishing up then, aye?"

She nodded, stepped out of his arms and turned back toward her bedroom. Following her, he made it a single step before she whirled and wrapped her arms back around him.

"I love you, Papa." The words were murmured into the fabric of his shirt and his heart expanded in his chest.

His arms wrapped around her, his eyes closing as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I love you too, Charlie. _Always_."

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